


December 17

by VR_Trakowski



Series: Advent 2015 [17]
Category: Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Genre: Advent Calendar, F/M, Ficlet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-17
Updated: 2015-12-17
Packaged: 2018-05-07 09:15:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5451377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VR_Trakowski/pseuds/VR_Trakowski
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From saint to icon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	December 17

**Author's Note:**

> Explanation [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5333558).

“Tell me more about Santa Claus.”  Caine glanced over at Jupiter; she had the passenger seat half-reclined and her feet pressed against the dash, her red coat a brilliant spot of color in the shadow of the car.  

“I thought you looked him up,” she said, fiddling idly with her phone.  The road to Stinger’s place stretched out flat and straight in front of them, no longer a cut through a canyon now that the corn was harvested; the sun was already low in the sky, and Caine could smell snow coming even though there were few clouds yet. 

“Nicholas of the area now known as Turkey, who lived almost two thousand years ago,” Caine said, recalling some of the facts he’d researched.  “Known for generosity, and that gradually evolved into your contemporary Santa Claus.”  

“Something like that, yeah.”  Jupiter’s phone began playing soft music, a tune Caine had heard a lot recently.  “What do you want to know?  History isn’t exactly my thing.”  

Caine shifted in his seat--even furled, his wings made sitting in a chair with a back a little uncomfortable.  “Tell me about _your_ Santa Claus.  Even if he’s not a living person, he’s important to your culture.”  

“Hmm.”  Jupiter nibbled on her lip.  “You’re really hooked on this, aren’t you?  Okay, well.  I guess when you’re little and you still think Santa is real, it’s like he’s this mysterious force that visits once a year--but benevolent, you know?  Maybe a little scary, but not _creepy_ , if that makes sense.”  

It didn’t, but Caine nodded anyway.  Jupiter tapped her toes against the windshield.  “Then when you get a little older, you kind of know he’s not real, but you go along with it anyway, sort of a halfway thing.  The power is real, the sense of it.”  

Caine thought about it.  “Like the Muppets?” he offered.  Learning about them had been an interesting experience, and occasionally an amusing one.  

“Yeah, kind of.  Jim Henson’s gone, but Kermit lives, because so many people believe in him even though they _know_ he’s not real.”  Jupiter grinned at him.  “And the adults support it because the kids expect it, and because they remember doing it too.”  

It seemed odd to him, almost dangerous, to have a collective power like that at large, undirected.  But it wasn’t his world, it was Jupiter’s, and if she saw no harm in it…  

“Think of it as a kind of game, if that makes it easier,” Jupiter added, and scooped up her phone again as it beeped for a new text.  

Caine kept his eyes on the road, and began planning more research.  


End file.
